Head of Programme

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Position description

Nonviolent Peaceforce (NP) reimagines security and civilian protection in areas most impacted by conflict by working alongside communities to interrupt and prevent violence. NP is a global civil society organization that works with people affected by violent conflicts to enhance their security and dignity through Unarmed Civilian Protection (UCP) and by helping to transform the world’s response to conflict situations.

Programming is founded on unarmed civilian protection and is thematically focused on protection in displacement, child protection, gender-based violence protection and inter-communal violence reduction, social cohesion, and civic engagement.

NP first established a presence in Ukraine in 2014/2015 working on peacebuilding and conflict mediation. NP has had a sustained presence in Ukraine since April 2022. NP occupies a unique space in the protection response in Ukraine; simultaneously providing direct protection to at-risk civilians and providing hands-on support to front-line volunteer collectives to directly contribute to the sustainability and safety of their actions.

Job Summary:

The Head of Programme (HoP) joins the Head of Mission (HoM) to provide co-leadership for all existing and emerging programmes in Ukraine. The HoP is responsible for ensuring the country programme is coherent, well-planned, and in line with the NP’s global mandate. Together with the HoM the HoP will continually monitor and assess the Ukraine programme to ensure their effectiveness and adherence to agreed programme deliverables, budgets and general commitments. In this context, they will provide operational, strategic planning and budget related support and guidance to the programme staff to implement civilian protection and violence-prevention programming for those affected by violent conflict in Ukraine. As NP has a dynamic and expanding country programme in Ukraine, the HoP will have a strong role in programme and project development (fundraising) and donor engagement.

Commitment to NP Principles

• Demonstrate a commitment to NP’s mandate and principles
• Maintain a positive image of the organisation
• All NP employees are expected to work in accordance with the organisation’s guiding principles:
  • Nonviolence
  • Non-partisanship
  • Primacy of local actors
  • Civilian-to-civilian action

These principles and beliefs shall guide our actions and relationships in protecting civilians in violent conflicts through unarmed strategies.

Key Responsibilities:

Program implementation and Management

• Oversee the Programme Team responsible for direct program implementation.
• Provide technical direction to NP team, and ensure high technical quality programme implementation.
• Coordinate and line manage Programme Managers who lead NP project implementation (activities, budget and project documentation) in the East and in the South of Ukraine in line with proposals, strategies and donor requirements.
• Provide regular progress reports to HoM and the Senior Management Team, highlighting operational successes and challenges.
• Ensure that projects target communities most in need of protection, explore and assess new and better ways to assist.
• Develop and manage project budget, in cooperation with HoM, in-country Senior Management Team, and Programme Managers.
• Develop and oversee Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) efforts and ensure that the program teams are collecting and analysing information to inform programming. In the absence of dedicated staff, develop and roll out M&E tools as needed.
• Oversee any technical program support staff, develop technical tools for programme teams and participate actively in relevant technical working groups in the country.
• Act as the budget holder for programme budgets, in coordination with HoM and HoOps/Sec and ensure that donor. budgets are followed and modified as needed. Engage in the budget monitoring process and ensure that forecasting is done promptly and accurately.

Grants Management and Donor Engagement

• Act, along with HoM, as key communications focal point for donor engagement. Maintain donor relationships and ensure that all communication is professional and timely.
• Oversee the Grants/Programme Development team and ensure that all grants management processes are conducted on time. Ensure the involvement of programme staff in grants management processes as needed.
• Oversee grant reporting and other donor submissions, including situation updates, context analysis, etc.
• Ensure all donor compliance requirements are being met and coach members of the programs team in order to ensure they are aware of and complying with donor rules.

Program Development and strategic direction

• Contribute to the development of country strategies, initiate and participate in the development of relevant NP projects
• Lead on strategic programme development, producing new ideas and concepts for Unarmed Civilian Protection work in Ukraine.
• Engage with donors on new programming, tracking trends in the donor environment and seeking out opportunities for NP in Ukraine.
• Lead proposal development processes for new programmes and required revisions, ensuring the production of high-quality concept notes and proposals.
• Engage in NP global programme discussion and activities and contribute to the global development of Unarmed Civilian Protection programming.
• Act as a member of the in-country Senior Management Team, and support the strategic vision of the NP Ukraine programme.

Leadership and Management / Team Development & Care

• Nurture a positive supervisory culture in NPUA and support the development and roll-out of policies and procedures as needed.
• Coach programs staff on management skills and when requested support on HR and management issues that arise in the field teams.
• Provide regular support and supervision to the line-managed staff, including guidance in formulating individual work plans on a weekly and monthly basis.
• In coordination with the HoM, facilitate line-managed programme staff’s performance evaluation based on agreed project work plans and deliverables, and/or job description.
• Identify staffing needs within the programme team, ensure proper budgeting for needed staff and in coordination with HoM, lead recruitment hiring and training processes for new program staff.
• Ensure capacity building of project staff and transfer key skills.
• Support the development of capacity and responsibilities of NP national staff in Ukraine.

Representation and Communication

• Represent NP in relevant coordination, advocacy, and governmental meetings/fora as needed.
• Enhance NP’s profile among relevant stakeholders, including with donors, government actors, civil society and other NGOs.
• Support programmatic input into relevant advocacy efforts, whether in-country or at a global level.

Qualifications

Education, Knowledge and Experience:

• A university degree in social sciences, international development, or a related field is desirable but not essential. Equivalent relevant professional experience may substitute for formal educational qualifications.
• Minimum 5 years’ experience in a senior humanitarian position, with line management and project management responsibilities.
• Previous experience from working as a manager in a complex emergency context.
• Previous experience working with Unarmed Civilian Protection.
• Experience from working in complex and volatile contexts.
• Demonstrated experience in engagement and building relationship with armed groups, military and with local and national government officials and NGOs.
• Demonstrated ability to analyse conflict, security and political contexts.
• Proven experience in successful donor fundraising and grant management, including proposal development for institutional donors.
• Understanding of conflict and peace building concepts and international human rights and humanitarian law.
• A strong understanding of the political and security context in Ukraine.
• Strong communication, coordination and interpersonal skills.
• Knowledge about own leadership skills/profile.

Skills and Competencies:

• Fluency in written and spoken English.
• Good analytical and communications skills, written and oral.
• A positive problem-solving approach.
• Enthusiasm to learn and apply new skills.
• Good interpersonal and cross-cultural communication and team-working skills.
• Ability to work under pressure and under difficult conditions.
• Experience with start-up or expansion of new programmes.
• Advanced computer skills, especially in Word, Excel, Power Point and Outlook.
• Knowledge of Ukrainian/Russian is an asset.

Working Conditions:

• This position will have to travel to field sites, including locations with limited access to communications.
• NP missions are often in a complex security environment where conditions change rapidly; the ability to manage in insecure environments is essential to success in this position.

Application instructions

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